


Tick

by Burgie



Series: JackxYdris AU [3]
Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: I mean if it upsets you to be reading about torture and cutting open hands, M/M, warning for mild body horror I guess, warning for swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-20
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2019-06-13 06:20:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15358143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Jack finally confronts Ydris and gets him to reveal the truth and let the others go. Jack belongs to UglyTwinkBoi and Eden belongs to ZealousDawn.





	Tick

**Author's Note:**

  * For [UglyJackal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/UglyJackal/gifts).



Jack had no clue what the fuck Evergray was on about. Time? What the fuck did time have to do with anything? Sure, time was important, but it really only had magical properties in the Marvel universe. Heck, he was currently really enjoying one such hero with time-related powers, Doctor Strange. He'd even recently bought a horse and named him after the character.

"Maybe we could somehow use time against him," Evergray was saying when Jack zoned back in. Louisa looked just as confused, thankfully. So he didn't feel like such a huge fucking idiot for not knowing what the fuck Evergray was on about. Maybe he was raving senselessly, he was mad, after all. Mad as a hatter.

"I don't know why we bothered asking him," said Avalon with a heavy sigh. "My brother is just proving, once and for all, how mad he is."

"Finally, something we agree on," said Jack. "We don't have time for this shit, we've gotta rescue Concorde and Eden and then I can just go crawl into a cave somewhere and hide until the world ends." Louisa glanced at him, concern in her eyes, but Jack rolled his eyes and looked away. "I said 'hide', not 'kill myself', calm down."

"No, I really think that we could use time against him," said Evergray, pacing in front of the unconscious Fripp. "If we could just somehow build a large enough clock... but no, that would take a master clock-builder."

"Next thing, you're going to be throwing a clock out the window to see time fly," Avalon muttered, folding his arms in front of his chest.

"Now you're getting it, brother," said Evergray, turning and pointing at his brother with a grin. Avalon turned away from him. "But who on Jorvik could build a clock big enough and to the specifications that I need... it couldn’t possibly be anyone you know, though, they're probably someone that most people would call mad."

"Big Bonny might be able to help," said Louisa. Jack frowned at her, confused. What the hell was going on? They were meant to be rescuing Concorde, not building a clock.

"Hmm, take me to her," said Evergray. "I'll wait outside on Goldmist."

"I'll meet you there, I guess," said Jack, following them out through the portal. "I'm going to change horses. This seems like a job for Strange."

"And you call me mad," said Evergray, grinning. To his surprise, nobody agreed with him.

"Evergray, when you get back, we have got to get you up to speed on pop culture," said Linda, who had also followed them out. "I suggest a Marvel movie marathon."

"Jack and I are both Marvel fans, so I wouldn't mind coming along," said Louisa. "I have all the DVDs." Jack had borrowed some from her when he'd been watching a few movies. Mostly the ones with Iron Man and Doctor Strange, though, strangely enough.

"And I s'pose you're gonna drag me along too," said Jack, climbing into Dale's saddle.

"Only if you want to come," said Louisa. "But it might be a nice distraction."

"Maybe," said Jack.

Jack grabbed Strange from his stable, the black Lusitano as elegant as ever. He gave the horse's mane a pet, trying to steady himself, and then set off towards Silverglade Village. Whatever the outcome of this, he’d be seeing Ydris very soon. The thought made him far more nervous than it had any right to. When he arrived, Louisa was sitting on Goldmist outside of Big Bonny's house with a strange-looking clock contraption on her horse’s back.

"What the fuck is that?" said Jack, frowning at it.

"It's a Cosmic Clock!" said Evergray, grinning and showing gums that actually glowed pink.

"What?" said Jack.

"A Cosmic Clock," said Big Bonny, looking happier and yet more frazzled than usual. "When this druid and I put our heads together, we can come up with some pretty nice things!"

"Please don't flirt in front of me, I may vomit," said Jack.

"Trust me, I've already warned them," said Louisa.

"Now, in order for this clock to work, you need to ride close to Ydris," said Evergray. "The clock will disrupt his magic to get through the forcefield, and then it should be able to disable him so that you can make him let Concorde go."

"So we're just gonna torture him?" asked Louisa, looking appalled at the very idea.

"I wouldn't call it 'torture', more like... persuasion," said Evergray. "We need that horse, and asking nicely didn't work."

"No," said Louisa, climbing off of Goldmist and removing the heavy clock from his back, struggling under its weight. "Concorde is important, but I'm not getting him back like this. It's wrong."

"I'll do it," said Jack, though the idea hurt him deeply. "I mean, I have Strange with me, it's only fitting."

"Are you sure?" asked Louisa, looking up at him as she held the clock in her arms. Jack nodded.

"Yeah, I'm sure," said Jack. "Give it here." He dismounted, then hefted the clock onto Strange's back with Louisa helping.

"Good luck over there," said Evergray. "Pandorians are a wiley bunch, he's probably going to put up a fight."

"I don't blame him," said Louisa. "I'll come with you if you want, Jack."

"Thanks," said Jack. He needed the backup, for emotional support if nothing else. Together, the two of them set off towards Nilmer's Highland, neither of them looking forward to what was to come. But part of Jack wanted Ydris to hurt. He'd betrayed him, lied to him for so long, not even told him what he was after Jack had been to Pandoria. Hadn't he trusted him, hadn't he loved him enough, had he really thought so little of Jack? And now here he was, off to hurt him. Maybe Ydris was right not to trust him.

As Jack rode up to the forcefield, the one that still hurt his heart, it disappeared. Jack closed his eyes, trying to take deep breaths.

"So it does work," said Louisa.

"Of course," said Jack. "Evergray might be a crazy fucker, but I guess he knows what he's talking about."

"You can still back out if you want," said Louisa when Jack still hesitated, his hands gripping Strange's reins while the clock ticked loudly behind him.

"No," said Jack, shaking his head. "I need answers. And maybe I won't need to hurt him too much to get him to talk."

"Good luck," said Louisa, following him into the tent.

Ydris was still there, still standing by the centre pole where he had been back when everything had come crashing down.

"Little fleas," said Ydris, sounding annoyed. "I thought I told you to stay out."

"Thought I was your little dove," said Jack, his voice thick with emotion. "Just give us the foal, Ydris, and we'll never-" His throat seemed to close up, he could barely breathe. Even just the idea of never talking to Ydris again threatened to kill him on the spot. He rubbed his thumb over the tears that threatened to spill.

"But I can't do that," said Ydris. "I've told you, I need that foal for my final act."

"We need him more," said Louisa. "We're on your side, Ydris, we both want Garnok out of Pandoria, can't you see that?"

"I'll never let you have him," said Ydris. He waved his hand, and suddenly, the shadows thrown by the lights merged together into several large, amorphous blobs. Bright red eyes glared out from each blob, and Jack heard Louisa gasp in fear. But he really didn't care. Not even when her cry of pain turned into a neigh.

"Just one question," said Jack. Ydris looked at him, annoyed at having his show interrupted. "Why is she golden when everyone else is normal horse colours?"

"Oh, Jack, you know me," said Ydris. "I do have a rather... ironic sense of humour at times. Her horse is nicknamed 'Goldie', how could I resist?" Louisa nickered, and Jack rolled his eyes. He wished that they could just banter like that all day. But they didn't have time.

Ydris flinched as Jack came closer with the Cosmic Clock, putting his hands over his ears.

"What is that infernal noise?" said Ydris, scowling. His body twitched as Jack rode closer, and Jack tried not to cry at the look of pain on Ydris' face.

"I'm sorry," said Jack. "But we really need that horse." He was almost relieved when Ydris stood up straight and levitated himself onto one of the Shadow Seekers, reclining on it in an almost lackadaisical manner.

"Then you'll have to catch me," said Ydris, his tone teasing. With his heart breaking, Jack chased Ydris, Strange able to keep up despite still being so new. Ydris cried out in pain, the ticking of the clock clearly hurting him, and Jack almost stopped, turned around, and fled the tent. But he didn't. He couldn't.

"I'm sorry, Ydris," said Jack, tears on his cheeks and his heart twisting in pain. Ydris looked at him like a kicked dog, pink-streaked tears in his eyes. And then he fell, the Shadow Seeker disappearing. Jack stopped Strange so suddenly that the Cosmic Clock fell, landing beside Ydris but still ticking. Ydris shook almost violently, his hands pressed over his ears.

"Make it stop, make it stop!" Ydris begged, his voice unusually high and frail. Jack wanted to take that clock and tear it apart, destroy it so that it could never hurt his fiance again. But he couldn't. Damn destiny. Damn, fucking destiny.

"Just give us Concorde and I'll destroy every fucking clock I see, I promise," said Jack through tears. "Please, I hate seeing you like this." Ydris looked up at him, flinching in time with the clock. But then he looked past Jack. At a spot above him.

"Now you've done it," said Ydris, sounding scared for the first time since Jack had known him. The Pandorian scrambled back on his hands and knees, still shaking, still weak, but terrified now. Jack turned around, swearing when he saw the tentacles waving in the air.

"Where is that fucker?" said Jack. "Darko, show your ugly mug!"

"Darko? No, you fool, it's Garnok," said Ydris. "Look what you've done, now he’s broken through."

"Broken through the tear you made in reality," Jack retorted. Ydris groaned, though in annoyance rather than pain. He was still trying to crawl away from the clock, but now pink blood had streaked from his nose, leaking from his ears too.

"And here I am, powerless to stop him," said Ydris. "I could, too, but I can't do anything with that fucking clock." He feebly tried to kick it, which only served to hurt him further.

"Move," said Jack, turning Strange around. His horse nickered, as though asking if he was sure. A brief look of relief flashed over Ydris' features as he tried to scrabble backwards, but it quickly turned into a look of terror as a tentacle came down and wrapped around him.

Jack dug his heels into Strange's sides, causing his horse to rear up and slam his hooves down on the clock. It continued to tick, though, until Jack finally dismounted and pulled the broken clock apart himself, metal biting into his fingers and spilling his blood onto the sawdust floor. But he ignored the pain, tearing at the metal and machinery until finally, there was silence save for his own panting breaths and the frightened whinnying of the girls-turned-horses. One horse, though, Eden, tried to fight with the tentacles, kicking at them with her hooves and even trying to bite them.

"The fuck are you waiting for?" Jack called up at Ydris. "I destroyed it, now get rid of the hentai demon!"

"Oh, it would be my greatest pleasure," said Ydris, recovering surprisingly quickly. One spell cut his tentacle in half, another levitated him to the ground, the tentacle flopping to the ground beside him. Ydris made a face at it, trying to kick it away, and then turned to the other tentacles and the pink void through which they reached. His eyes seemed to glow with Pandoric power as he held his hands up. "Begone!" His voice boomed, and suddenly, the tentacles vanished with a hellish screaming sound.

"If we had Concorde back, we could defeat him for real," said Jack, shakily climbing to his feet. He didn't even want to try mounting again with his hands bleeding like this.

"Fine," said Ydris, frowning. He snapped his fingers and a cage holding the special foal lowered from the top of the tent. "You belong to them now, my fantastic flying foal. You were to be a great act in my final show, but alas..." He shrugged.

"Now turn the horses back into girls," said Jack.

"Ugh, you're no fun," said Ydris. He was talking to him like he was just any other person, and that hurt. Even as Eden and Louisa became human again, and Eden ran across the ground to punch Ydris in the gut. Ydris doubled over.

"That's for breaking Jack's heart and being an evil dick," said Eden. "And this is for turning me into a horse." She punched Ydris in the nose, making him stagger back. Eden strode out of the tent, still fuming, Concorde trotting behind her.

"You could still work with us," said Jack, once it was just the two of them left alone in the tent.

"Would that it were that easy," said Ydris. "Come here, you're bleeding." Jack held his hands out, just wanting things to go back to the way they'd been before. The warm feeling of Ydris' magic healing him almost made him cry all over again. The look Ydris gave him did make him cry.

"I wish this horse was Strange so he could rewind time and erase my memory," said Jack, knowing that he sounded like a sap but not caring.

"And I wish that things could be different," said Ydris, lifting his hand as though he wanted to caress Jack's face. "I wish that saving my world didn't mean losing yours, I really do. I wish that you could live with me. But this pocket can only exist in your world." Jack shook his head.

"Never thought I'd have to choose love or the world," said Jack. Maybe Ydris was wrong. Though he may not be human, he was still a thinking, feeling being. He could still make mistakes. Hell, he'd made plenty with Jack.

"I suppose... we've both hurt each other plenty," said Ydris. "You, emotionally, me, physically. And emotionally. I never thought that you'd be the one to bring me to my knees with my one weakness."

"I'm sorry," said Jack, unable to stop crying. "I'm so sorry I hurt you like that, I feel like such an asshole. I nearly got you killed, I nearly got us all killed, I... fuck." He rubbed his hands over his face, almost knocking his glasses off entirely.

"Did the druids make you do it?" asked Ydris, sounding thoughtful. Jack looked up, hurt all over again at the blood on Ydris' face. Sure, some of it had been from Eden, but most of it had been that fucking clock.

"It was their idea, yeah," said Jack, his voice croaky.

"And you wouldn't have been snooping at all, were it not for them," said Ydris. "Those fleas, feeding off of the energy of my home after they put Garnok there in the first place." He sounded so angry.

"Coulda warned me about them in the first place," said Jack. "Then I wouldn't be in this position."

"Well, like you said, your horse can't turn back time," said Ydris. "And I couldn't risk anyone finding out about me."

"Thanks for the fucking vote of confidence," said Jack.

"Jack, just for one moment, imagine that you are in my position," said Ydris. "You're a non-human entity in a human world, and you meet a human who seems different. You don't know him as anything more than a human, albeit an interesting one. Do you immediately reveal your identity to him?"

"No," said Jack after thinking about it for a few moments. "It'd be like... coming out in a really homophobic and transphobic place, since the druids control things here. People'd either wanna fuck you or kill you or... dissect you." He shuddered at the last one.

"Precisely, my dove," said Ydris. "Now you see why I couldn't tell you. I couldn't risk it. And then, once I knew you better, you were in too deep with the druids for me to risk telling you."

"I wouldn't have told," said Jack. "I'm good with secrets, you should know that by now."

"I know," said Ydris. "But it's too late now. The truth is out, and... you probably don't want to marry a Pandorian." Jack almost choked, putting his hand in Ydris' so that he couldn't get the ring off.

"No!" said Jack, with more force than he'd expected. "No, don't fucking leave, I can't live in this world without you!" Ydris looked surprised.

"Even after I said that I'd like to see your world destroyed?" asked Ydris. "You must be mad."

"Maybe I am," said Jack. "But if this world is ending, that great finale had better be our wedding. I'd rather go out smiling than spend the rest of my days miserable."

"Alright," said Ydris, finally, after a too-long pause. "I need to change my final act anyway. I thought you hated me."

"I did, for a bit," said Jack. "But fuck it. I get it now, the fucking druids ruined everything, as per fucking usual. Loving you is hard, but so is being happy sometimes. And you're the one thing that keeps me happy. Losing you would kill me, and we both know it. Even if loving you will do that too."

"My dear, when this world ends, I will do my best to ensure that you are smiling," said Ydris. "Even if I must take you to my realm until you lose yourself."

"Not the most typical wedding vow, but fuck it," said Jack. Before he could even try to move, though, Ydris bent down and pressed his lips to Jack's. So the world was ending. So what? Jack would leave the druids, something he should have done a long time ago, and spend the rest of his days with Ydris. Maybe it was selfish, maybe the old demons screamed at him again about being a selfish bitch, but Ydris had this magical way of telling those demons to fuck off. It was just one of the many things that Jack loved about him.


End file.
